The images that I’ve included here are kind of an eclectic mix, though I suppose they sort of come down to art, architecture and people (alive and dead). That was far too long for a title, however.

このポストの写真はちょっと変型のです。たぶん、テーマは美術品だし建築だし人たちです。

Like many of the European cities I’ve been to, Prague, Budapest and Rome in particular come instantly to mind, the architecture of Paris is gorgeous. Canada is a very young country, so being able to wander around among buildings still being used and lived in that are older by far than anything in Canada is remarkable. Maybe I’m only seeing things with a tourist’s eyes, but there’s also something inherently cultured about these old-world cities. Still, one of the most amazing things I observed in Paris was that people were not addicted to their mobile phones. This really hit home when I was riding the metro. Here in Hong Kong, people are constantly plugged in, but in Paris there was a very small portion of the ridership that were. It was a refreshing change.

Like London, and even the other cities I mentioned, it’s easy to forget that within the last 100 years there were times when Paris had the stuffing knocked out of it due to conflict. There’s not much to remind one of the damage that was inflicted on Paris during the second world war, but as the photos will show, every now and again, a reminder will pop into view of how devastating the war was.